Justice League is Coming to Chicago and Mexico City for 2016

September 3, 2015, 6:05 AM ·
Six Flags will be bringing its award-winning interactive dark ride, Justice League: Battle for Metropolis, to Six Flags Great America and Six Flags Mexico next year.

The first two installations of Justice League opened last May at Six Flags Over Texas, outside Dallas, and then Six Flags St. Louis. Strong reviews from visitors won the ride our annual Theme Park Insider Award for Best New Attraction in July. Produced in conjunction with Sally Corp., Oceaneering, and an all-star team of themed attraction developers, Justice League puts riders in the middle of a battle with Joker and Lex Luthor on the streets of Metropolis.

Let's take a ride on the Texas original:

Six Flags this morning announced its complete line-up of new rides for 2016 at its parks across North America. In addition to the two new dark rides, Six Flags' new roller coasters will include:

The Joker - a hybrid coaster at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom

Total Mayhem - a 4D free fly coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure

In addition, the company will rename Six Flags New England's Bizarro as Superman The Ride, adding new on-ride music, and will refurbish Six Flags Magic Mountain's Revolution, adding "newly-created special ride effects, a new look, and newly designed trains that will deliver a smoother, sleeker ride experience for guests." You can see the full line-up of the other new flat rides and water and family attractions the chain is adding in its press release. (And thanks to Six Flags for the shout-out to us in that release!)

Replies (17)

But why oh why are they putting it at the Southwest Territory theater? That's worse than putting Frozen in World Showcase. That just goes to show you what Six Flags' idea (or lack thereof) of thematic justification is. The Dark Knight would be a much better spot since they'd already have a showbuilding to work with. Further, since both Dark Knight and the next-door Superman already exit into a DC superhero-themed gift shop, it'd make much more sense to just redress the Orleans Place section as a DC "land." That whole section was always an inferior version of the neighboring Mardi Gras.

September 3, 2015 at 9:24 AM ·
I am a little confused/disappointed that Justice League is going to Chicago, since it's already in St. Louis. Mexico is a great call, but I would have thought that Six Flags would have looked to New Jersey, Atlanta, or Los Angeles for the next installation of Justice League, since it already had two installations in the middle third of the country.

That said, this is great news for theme park fans in the Chicago area, though, yeah, replacing Dark Knight with Justice League might have been even better news.

166.137.240.26

September 3, 2015 at 10:03 AM ·
SFOG was rumored to get it, but I guess it fell through. SFGA is a good spot despite the proximity to St. Louis, because of the popularity of that park. SFGAdv will probably get it next year.

I do wish they would make the installations unique, but at least they're cloning a proven and successful attraction.

September 3, 2015 at 11:11 AM ·
^Perhaps they are putting it in Chicago because the one in Saint Louis seems to be an epic failure? By all accounts, the version of the ride at SFStL has had more down time than up time since it opened.

Overall, I find the Six Flags announcements to be completely underwhelming. Outside of the one Rocky Mountain coaster in northern California the company brings nothing new to the table in 2016, and seems to be content to install carnival amusements and cloned rides all over the world. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....

September 3, 2015 at 9:46 PM ·
This decision shows Six Flags has no interest in copying the strategy of Disney or Universal. Sure they could make another dark ride, but why do that? Six Flags are much more regional parks. People that go to multiple Six Flags a year might be disappointed that the newest ride at two parks is a ride already at two parks, but for most people, it's a welcome addition. Six Flags' main demographic is people that live within a few hours drive to each park. It's not like Disney where people travel thousands of miles to visit. Six Flags tends not to have the same attraction at multiple parks, but that's because most of their main attractions are roller coasters that may not identicial, they each offer similar thrills. A dark ride is more expensive to design, but it becomes more economical to reuse it at several parks. Justice League is something people may not want to visit another Six Flags to ride, but they do want to ride it. So it makes sense to have Justice League open up at each park over the next few years.

September 3, 2015 at 12:49 PM ·
I guess its a good thing Justice League is coming to more parks (one of them being my national park, only downside is we will probably get new voices instead of just subtitles. I hope Im wrong here but thats what they did with TDKC). Since I already rode Justice League in June at SFOT, I guess Im looking forward to SFDK's The Joker the most. I hope they have a fun pre-show like Mexico's The Joker.

September 3, 2015 at 2:29 PM ·
Justice League does make sense at SFGAm because the market share with SFStL is pretty small and SFGAm lacks any type of dark ride. SFGAdv and SFOG have dark rides and SFMM doesn't want to compete with USH next year. However, I have heard from a reliable source that more Justice League attractions are coming. Six Flags reportedly signed a contract for 6 copies of the ride installed two per year with the option of extending it to 10, so expect to see this at most Six Flags parks within a few years. As of right now, SFMM and SFOG are scheduled to get the 2017 attractions and SFDK, SFFT, and SFGAdv are on the list if the contract is extended. Yes, it is a clone, but from what I've heard it is an excellent ride and 99% of the visitors to any Six Flags come from within 200 miles of the park. If you haven't experienced it elsewhere it doesn't matter that it's a clone.

As for the rest of the additions, I think most of the parks are getting good additions for 2016. Joker will likely be just as good as the other RMCs, Total Mayhem may be a clone but it is unique to the region, and the new kid's stuff at SFOG looks great. Sure, most of the other parks are getting basic flat rides, but Six Flags doesn't have the budget to give everyone a big attraction every year and I like the way they are spreading it throughout the chain. The only park that I feel got a weak investment is SFStL. Fireball isn't bad, but it should have been part of a multi-attraction package (perhaps a waterslide and the kiddie coaster the park has been lacking for a decade).

173.169.245.219

September 3, 2015 at 4:27 PM ·
Randy Keith and AJ Hummel have good insights about the Justice League rides. There are more rides like Justice League (not just clones) in the works. Be patient.

70.126.135.117

September 3, 2015 at 6:27 PM ·
Gee, if only the camera could have 3D glasses! I'm sure the visuals look amazing with them on, but without them the whole thing just looks kinda...meh. (Except for the practical effects, those looked pretty good!)

Either way I'm glad Six Flags finally had the gutts to build an actual good DC-themed ride. And when I say "good DC-themed ride" I'm talking about rides that have more theming than just slapping the name of a popular DC character onto a roller coaster that actually has nothing to do with that character, yet is more than just some indoor wild mouse ( you know who I'm talking about). And why not bring this attraction to other parks? Disney and a Universal make cloned attractions all the time, so why not Six Flags?

162.192.68.100

September 3, 2015 at 8:29 PM ·
I really do not see what people see in Justice League. It is a budget Transformers clone at best, and that is only when the staff at Six Flags can keep it running. It is a move in the right direction, but best new ride it most definitely is not. Six Flags desperately needs massive improvements in customer service and overall management. Then it can be in a better position with rides like this. I am all for them, but if they are going to get into the market of rides similar to Universal or Disney, they need to understand how to run them and not make miniature versions. I have been to Six Flags for over twenty years in a row, multiple times per year, and I would gladly, gladly pay more for a better run park.

Nobody in Chicago goes to the WAY inferior SFStL. It's a real pain to get to (most major highways in Il go North and South) and it looks run down.

I will admit that the location seems unfortunate. I would have rather seen it go by the Little Dipper and take out those go carts!

Then again, SFGA should have always had this attraction since it is one of the "top tier" Six Flags parks

73.222.16.97

September 4, 2015 at 10:07 AM ·
I'm with James that these yearly announcements are starting to get dull. I'm excited for my local Six Flags to get a roar make over in Ca, but come on magic mountain you can't bring one Giga Coaster to your park! The park got the space and no height restrictions to get it done. And I agree with the person who said Six Flags seriously need to get their staffing in order. Over filled garbage bings, half filled rides, major line cutting,etc..I get they are not disneyland or Universal but they can still try harder to set a good impression and establish better customers service.

199.184.122.7

September 4, 2015 at 10:15 AM ·
Has SFGA said for sure that it is going into the old southwest amphitheater? Is it possible they could move the bumper cars and shops next to Superman to a new location by southwest territory and build the show building there? It's a pretty big area. Or it's possible they just move the entrance to Southwest territory back so it's after the JL show building ..::

September 5, 2015 at 8:36 PM ·
Although I was hoping to get Justice League here at SFOG in 2016, I cannot see it happening in 2017. There are two reasons: Our 2015 additions were Joker Chaos Coaster (even though its a Larson Super Loop and not a coaster) and Harley Quinn Spinsanity - two DC / Batman themed attractions. In 2016, we are getting DC Super Friends, another DC themed attraction. Would our park really go DC for a third year in a row?

The second reason is the last year SFOG added a coaster to its lineup was in 2011, which was Dare Devil Dive. With 2017 being SFOG's 50th birthday, not to mention a huge year for the city of Atlanta with two new stadiums opening, I expect SFOG to either add a large new coaster or do a RMC transformation of an existing one to compete with all the other attractions the city will offer. Besides, it will have been six years since a coaster was added to this park.

Although I was initially disappointed with the announcement of the DC Super Friends and Bugs Bunny Boomtown, the more I think about it, the more I agree with the thinking. Our park has become a haven for teens and going big on the family attractions will bring families and parents back to the park. Plus, these new areas will offer new attractions for all ages, not just kids. I am particularly looking forward to the Bucket Blasters water battle ride and the Harley Quinn mirror maze - might be a first for a SF park.